In the pretzel making field, pretzel dough is extruded in the shape of a pretzel and then severed. Consequently, in the pretzel dough extruding field, there exists a need for a simple and accurate way of apportioning and extruding dough. In addition, there exists a need for an extrudate cutting apparatus which can cleanly sever extruded pretzel dough at high speeds and without distorting the dough from the configuration imparted to it by the orifice fitting.
When flowable, viscous material or dough is to be divided and dispensed from a large mass of material into smaller measured volumes of material or dough, it has been common practice to urge the dough from a supply of dough through a conduit system to the area where it is to be subdivided and dispensed. By repeatedly opening and closing a cutting apparatus, the material moving through the conduit system can be divided from the on-coming material and dispensed to an awaiting container, conveyor, etc.
Conventionally, there exist two processes for apportioning and extruding dough. One process requires dough strips to be extruded in continuous strands and cut to length on a transport conveyor by a different piece of machinery. The problem with this process is that the major diameter of the product is limited by the fixed size of the orifice and the length of the material is limited by the cutting system, which is designed to provide a uniform and fixed length of product.
The second process entails the use of a complicated cutting system which severs the dough at the face plate of the extrusion nozzle. A pretzel die fixes the major shape and appearance of the pretzel. By varying the cutting rate and extrudance speed, pretzels of this defined shape can be a bit lighter or heavier in weight, but the appearance remains the same. The above processes are problematic in that they require a continuous flow of dough through either a dye or an orifice.
The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages inherent in the above-described extrudate systems by providing an efficient and accurate way of cleanly severing the extrudated pretzel dough or other viscous material, while at the same time stopping the flow of the pretzel dough or material. Moreover, the present invention can temporarily stop the flow of dough while other machine operations could occur that might alter the final shape of the product. In addition, the extrudate cutting apparatus of the present invention includes a variable orifice for allowing the major diameter of the extrudate stream to be varied, to thereby give the dough piece the appearance of being handmade.
The extrudate cutting apparatus of the present invention, for example, can extrude dough onto a computer-controlled table which moves in two dimensions to produce a pretzel or other decorative shape. By changing the program of the two-dimensional table, the shape of the product can be changed. By temporarily interrupting the extrusion process, the two-dimensional table can yield a limitless variety of shapes and decorative patterns.